Beverage marketing evolves

From Innocent's new dairy-free beverages to Pepsi J-Cola for Japanese taste preferences, marketers are expanding their product mixes to expand their customer base and appeal to variety-seeking loyal brand fans.

Another reason for the proliferation of product extensions and brand extensions is consumers' desire for healthy, nutritious beverages. At the same time, beverage marketers are responding to governmental efforts to encourage healthier lifestyles.

In the UK, there is now a levy on high-added-sugar drinks. Beverages that are made of 100% fruit or vegetables will not be subject to this levy. Ireland and South Africa are also taxing high-sugar beverage products. Individual US cities are similarly taxing high-sugar soft drinks, all part of the effort to encourage healthy eating.

In this UK marketing environment, Britvic has experienced strong demand for its no- and low-sugar soft drinks. Barr is also experiencing strong demand for its low-sugar and no-sugar soft drinks. Watch for more product introductions as beverage marketers compete for the attention of consumers during the high-demand summer months.

Barbie and Ken show market segmentation in action

The original Barbie doll, made by Mattel, had blonde hair, blue eyes and long legs. Today, Barbie dolls (and Ken dolls) come in so many sizes, shapes and colours that there is a Barbie or Ken for everybody--market segmentation in action!

Royal dreams? Mattel markets the Dreamtopia Barbie and Prince Ken. A fan of Jurassic World movies? Buy a Claire Barbie or an Owen Barbie. Got a pocket? Barbie on the Go is sized to go with you to school or play or anywhere (see photo above). Want to try on different hair colours? Try the Barbie Colour Surprise Doll, with hair that changes colour when sprayed with water. 

As these products demonstrate, segmentation is not just a matter of age and gender. Mattel segments the market for dolls according to factors such as lifestyle ("on the go" for instance), desire for variety or novelty (Barbie Colour Surprise), interest in a blockbuster movie (like Jurassic World) and royalty fantasy (both prince and princess).

Not that Barbie is alone in the doll world. Bratz, for instance, is a direct competitor. And Barbie also competes with other types of playthings, not just dolls--including videogames and other digital play possibilities. Barbie and Ken have had mixed sales results in recent years. Will further market segmentation have a positive effect on consumer behaviour?

Riding the Royal Wedding marketing wave

On Sunday, 19 May, Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle will be wed at St George's Chapel. Both traditional and social media reflect the global excitement about this Royal Wedding. Above, the Instagram post announcing that Queen Elizabeth officially signed the Instrument of Consent for this wedding to take place.

Even before the Royal Wedding, consumers fascinated by Harry and Meghan began buying products they favour. Meghan's dresses and coats? Sold out within hours of her appearances. When she arrives for the actual wedding, expect media frenzy over her choice of designer and her accessories, not just her wedding gown--as marketers frantically scramble to produce similar products for non-royal consumers.

Wedding-related marketing continues strong on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, one estimate suggests that tourism, product sales and all other marketing connected with Harry and Meghan could add an economic boost of up to £ 1 billion this year. From wedding souvenirs sold by John Lewis to white chocolate hearts with the bride and groom's faces, there are a variety of products to satisfy every budget and interest. One UK charity is already marketing wedding products to raise money for helping homeless people.

Across the pond, brands are finding different ways to ride the wedding marketing wave. A salad dressing looking to promote a royal connection? Yes. A New Orleans hotel showing off royal flair for the royal occasion? Yes. So many US media outlets are airing programmes about Harry and Meghan and the royal family, it's easy to lose count.

Congratulations to Prince Harry and his bride, Meghan!

Marketing fashions with sustainability in mind

#recycle

Inditex, which owns Zara and other well-known fashion brands, now disassembles old apparel to remake into 'garments with a past'. Its Join Life label features clothing made in part from reclaimed materials and made using processes that are more earth-friendly.

The company also invites customers to bring old/unwanted clothes to selected stores for recycling. If you live in Spain, where Inditex is headquartered, you can have the courier who drops off your Zara purchases take your old clothes back for recycling--quite convenient!

Inditex and other fashion marketers are becoming more active in adopting sustainability and promoting this aspect of their products to customers, suppliers and partners.

H&M, the fast-fashion retailer based in Sweden, has set the ambitious goal of sustainably manufacturing all its fashions by 2030. 'H&M group is . . . pushing the development towards a shift to a circular model; where materials are maximised and waste is minimised', according to its 2017 Sustainability Report. It is investing in startups that search for ways to make fabrics and recycle materials without environmental harm. 'We need to speed the shift toward waste-free models [of business]', says H&M's CEO.

Watch for more sustainability activities as companies seek to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, help the planet and differentiate their brands in the competitive global marketplace.

Latest in Specsavers marketing

Specsavers, the multinational chain of more than 2000 retail shops, appeals to consumers on the basis of local expertise, fashion design and affordable pricing. The company's multichannel strategy appeals to multiple market segments.

Local Specsavers shops examine the external marketing environment for spectacles and other eyewear products and offer products and services to meet the needs of their retail clientele.

Specsavers particularly wants to be known for its community involvement and social responsibility. So, for example, some UK stores recently participated in charity efforts like fundraising for Brain Tumour research.

The UK Specsavers organisation is highly social...and has attracted hundreds of thousands of views for its YouTube videos over the years. Its Twitter account, opened eight years ago, has nearly 40k followers. Its Instagram page features stylish eyewear for men and women, a complement to the pricing promotions in other media.

In Africa, nearly 300 franchised Specsavers shops emphasise affordable eyewear via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The organisation offers free try-on of glass frames by mail, so customers can see how frames look at home.

In Australia, the Specsavers organisation uses the strapline 'Good looking styles at feel good prices' on its website. Its Instagram account asks brand fans to 'snap a spec selfie' and upload with the tag #LoveGlasses for a chance to win a prize. Its Facebook page has more than 110k followers and its YouTube account has nearly 1000 followers. The Australian Specsavers stores support hundreds of local community causes.

This updates the Specsavers example in the chapter on Analysing Customers and Markets, in my book Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.

Marketing consequences of merging Sainsbury's and ASDA

Walmart proposes to sell ASDA to Sainsbury's, creating a UK retailing giant that would increase efficiencies--and possibly intensify the supermarket price wars.

Sainsbury's would manage the new entity, with Walmart as a shareholder and partner.

One marketing consequence is the ability for the combined company to pay less for goods and services purchased in larger volume. This will, in turn, reduce costs and therefore allow for lower prices--a key element in this competitive industry.

So far, Sainsbury's says it will slash prices by 10% and will not be closing any stores after the merger is complete. UK regulators may require the sale of some stores to rivals, which would be another marketing consequence of the deal. The marketing environment for all UK retailers could change as a result.

Finally, how will consumers react? Will the merger change consumer behaviour? We'll have to wait and see.

Earth Day Marketing 2018

Today is Earth Day, a day to focus on sustainability and protecting our ecological environment.

This is the 48th year of Earth Day celebrations, and the theme this year is education and action to eliminate 'plastic pollution'. Here is a small sampling of Earth Day marketing efforts:

• Google is raising awareness with its special Google Doodle, celebrating Dr. Jane Goodall and her work.
• Brother, which makes printers and toner cartridges, is promoting the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.
• The National Space Centre is promoting Earth Day with special events exploring the science of our environment. 
• H&M continues its clothing recycling project, encouraging consumers to drop off unwanted apparel at its stores, for sorting and donation.

Happy Earth Day 2018!

Grocery retailers battle for UK market share

Aldi and Lidl, both based in Germany, have been steadily capturing market share in UK grocery retailing. Recent numbers show that Aldi has increased its market share from 3.9% at the start of 2014 to 7.3% at the start of 2018. Lidl, meanwhile, grew market share from 3.1% in early 2014 to 5.3% in early 2018.

From the perspective of traditional UK supermarkets like Tesco and Waitrose, the battle for market share has another challenge: pressure on profit margins. Aldi and Lidl are deep-discount grocers with no-frills stores. Not so for Tesco and Waitrose, which are full-service grocers. To be sure consumers can see the value in shopping at a full-service store, price promotions are often highlighted--and that cuts into margins.

In fact, price is a key element in consumers' perceptions of a store. Not long ago, Aldi overtook Waitrose as the favourite supermarket of UK consumers who were asked about satisfaction. Affordable prices would naturally be important to satisfaction.

Meanwhile, UK supermarkets will continue to face pressure from the deep discounters as Aldi and Lidl both plan to expand their store networks. At the same time, traditional supermarkets are slowing their store openings to maintain cost control. Will online grocery shopping be the competitive edge for traditional supermarkets? Possibly, as a growing number of UK shoppers try or continue buying food and household products without going into a store. Consumer behaviour is changing, and grocery retailers are learning to adapt so they can compete more effectively.

Celebrities, influencers and brand marketing

David Beckham is a fan of scotch whisky...and if you're a David Beckham fan, you can buy Haig Club scotch and drink the brand that is his. Literally. Beckham partnered with Diageo to create Haig Club as a whisky with personality, modeled on the whisky preferred by his Dad. Not surprisingly, Beckham also stars in marketing for his brand. 

Beckham is one of a growing number of celebrities deeply involved in marketing their favourite products. Some invest money in products they like and use--such as Rihanna's investment in Vita Coca, one of today's up-and-coming coconut water products. Rihanna also has a beauty brand, Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, which is growing quickly.

Michelle Keegan, star of Our Girl, has her own celebrity-branded line of clothing with Very. Supermodel Gigi Hadid has a beauty product line with Maybelline, #GIGIxMAYBELLINE, which is heavily promoted during London Fashion Week. And of course, all these celebrities use social media and in-person appearances to market the brands they prefer.

Not every social media star who attracts followers and influences customer attitudes and behaviour is an actor or performer. The London fashion brand Kitri recently paid fashion blogger/Instagram influencer Charlotte Groeneveld to promote a green dress for summer. A month after Groeneveld posted an Instagram pic of herself in the dress, Kitri sold 200 units in less than an hour. Kitri now has a waiting list for this dress, demand is so strong. 

The marketing lesson: Know your influencers, know who they influence and know how they influence.

Happy 9th Blogiversary (Not April Fool)

My first blog post was on 3 April 2009. As shown above, the most popular post (by far) is Yes, competitors are stakeholders written more than 5 years ago and updated several times more recently.

Unquestionably, competitors are truly stakeholders of any marketing organisation, from the smallest single-person operation to multinational giants. Remember, stakeholder is defined as 'a group or individual that has an interest in or can potentially affect the marketer's performance and activities'. Surely competitors qualify because they have the ability to begin or escalate price wars, influence market share and marketing trends, influence customers and suppliers and so on.

An academic paper found six good reasons to include competitors as stakeholders. McKinsey has noted that organisations must try to anticipate competitors' strategies so they can plan ahead to deflect challenges.

At times, a marketer may want to collaborate with competitors on issues of mutual interest, such as industry standards or sustainability projects. Not on pricing--such collusion is illegal in most nations--but on larger issues that affect many stakeholders, including the public.